Free Presentation on Tsunami Debris

"Japan Tsunami Marine Debris: Disaster Debris and the Existing Problem," a free presentation, will be offered Tuesday, March 4, at 7 p.m., at the Healy Senior Center, 456 Briceland Rd., in Redway.

Sherry Lippiatt, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Debris Program, will provide an overview of the debris generated from the tragic March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

She will focus on the US response to the threat of debris washing ashore, efforts to model debris movement, debris sightings and confirmed items, and potential environmental and safety impacts. The discussion will also cover current research and prevention efforts to address the issue of everyday marine debris.

As NOAA's MDP California regional coordinator, Lippiatt provides technical expertise and monitors regional marine debris projects and initiatives, assists with response to acute marine debris-generating events, and works with partners to implement prevention strategies. She also leads the Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project, a national network of shoreline monitoring sites.

Lippiatt came to NOAA as a Knauss Sea Grant fellow while completing her Ph.D. in ocean sciences at University of California Santa Cruz.

The lecture is being presented by the Bureau of Land Management and the Lost Coast Interpretive Association as part of their annual winter lecture series. The King Range National Conservation Area is part of the BLM’s National Landscape Conservation System. More information is available at the BLM King Range Project Office, (707) 986-5400 or by emailing the office at ca338@blm.gov.